Characterization of Root Zone Soil Moisture and Herpetofaunal Biodiversity in the Southern Great Plains
| Active Dates | 9/1/2022-6/30/2024 |
|---|---|
| Program Area | Atmospheric System Research |
Project Description
Project Objectives
There are two scientific objectives to the proposed research. (1) To develop a proto-type high resolution (<1 km) version of the root-zone
soil moisture product called SoilMERGE or SMERGE. (2) To characterize the biogeography and biodiversity Southern Great Plains
reptiles and amphibians. These two objectives are linked as root zone soil moisture is a critical climate variable that has a more direct
influence on plant growth than precipitation. Therefore, the developed downscaled version of SMERGE can be used as input for
modeling biodiversity. Development of downscaled SMERGE will be facilitated Department of Energy (DOE) resources specifically data
from the DOE Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) facility and modeling platforms such as the Energy Exascale Earth System
Model.
Methods to be Employed
To facilitate downscaling of SMERGE, advanced machine learning algorithms will be applied and tested for accuracy. Our proposed
approach incorporates independent variables that are both static (soil texture, elevation, aspect, slope) and dynamic (Normalized
Vegetation Difference Index). Downscaled SMERGE will be validated using several approaches including comparison with in situ soil
moisture data from ARM and model data from Model (E3SM) .
Reptile and amphibian biodiversity will be evaluated by comparison of models results with field collected data available via citizen
science platforms and museum databases. Modeling will be used to construct the potential current distribution of reptile and amphibian
species.
Project Impact
This project will have multiple impacts. It will serve as a catalysis for faculty research at Texas A&M International University (TAMIU) in
areas of biological and environment research of interest to DOE. As such, this effort will build a bridge facilitating access for TAMIU
faculty to DOE facilities. In addition, since TAMIU has an 89% Hispanic student body, most of which are both first-generation and
low-income. Therefore, this project will very likely involve Hispanic students and hence broaden participation of underrepresented groups in the STEM fields. Thus, this effort will serve as a pipeline to recruit Hispanic students into STEM careers of interest to the DOE.
Note that Texas A&M International University has not received DOE Biological and Environmental (BER) funding in the last seven years.
There are two scientific objectives to the proposed research. (1) To develop a proto-type high resolution (<1 km) version of the root-zone
soil moisture product called SoilMERGE or SMERGE. (2) To characterize the biogeography and biodiversity Southern Great Plains
reptiles and amphibians. These two objectives are linked as root zone soil moisture is a critical climate variable that has a more direct
influence on plant growth than precipitation. Therefore, the developed downscaled version of SMERGE can be used as input for
modeling biodiversity. Development of downscaled SMERGE will be facilitated Department of Energy (DOE) resources specifically data
from the DOE Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) facility and modeling platforms such as the Energy Exascale Earth System
Model.
Methods to be Employed
To facilitate downscaling of SMERGE, advanced machine learning algorithms will be applied and tested for accuracy. Our proposed
approach incorporates independent variables that are both static (soil texture, elevation, aspect, slope) and dynamic (Normalized
Vegetation Difference Index). Downscaled SMERGE will be validated using several approaches including comparison with in situ soil
moisture data from ARM and model data from Model (E3SM) .
Reptile and amphibian biodiversity will be evaluated by comparison of models results with field collected data available via citizen
science platforms and museum databases. Modeling will be used to construct the potential current distribution of reptile and amphibian
species.
Project Impact
This project will have multiple impacts. It will serve as a catalysis for faculty research at Texas A&M International University (TAMIU) in
areas of biological and environment research of interest to DOE. As such, this effort will build a bridge facilitating access for TAMIU
faculty to DOE facilities. In addition, since TAMIU has an 89% Hispanic student body, most of which are both first-generation and
low-income. Therefore, this project will very likely involve Hispanic students and hence broaden participation of underrepresented groups in the STEM fields. Thus, this effort will serve as a pipeline to recruit Hispanic students into STEM careers of interest to the DOE.
Note that Texas A&M International University has not received DOE Biological and Environmental (BER) funding in the last seven years.
Award Recipient(s)
- Texas A&M International University (PI: Tobin, Kenneth)